Adone said:
In this same thread, another guy said that getting a license in America costs about 1000$, now you are saying it costs 50$. How come?
The reasons for this are easy to see. The $50 price I quoted was just for the class. There are other costs too, such as what needs to be paid to the state in fees (there's no U.S. driver's license, they're issued by states though it's good anywhere in the U.S.).
The $50 class was actually subsidized. I'm not sure who subsidized it, but some government organization. Without it, the class would cost much more, like $350. There was a concern recently that the subsidy would be dropped due to budget concerns, and if this happened students wouldn't be interested in taking the class in high school and instead use private driving schools. Without the subsidy, the class would cost $350. Since private driving schools charge like $400 or so, the concern is real since the private driving schools can offer better flexibility, and there's no financial incentive to do it through the high school.
It's possible that in other places, people aren't lucky enough to have the driving class subsidized. Heck, in some places driving might even be discouraged, though it's personally hard to picture. Around here anyway, owning a car is a defacto requirement. Public transit, while it exists, is lousy and anything but comprehensive. Plus there are many places here that are difficult to reach if you don't have a car.
Apparently, I got lucky and was able to take the class in high school for a low price. Also, because I had a summer birthday I had no incentive to take the class outside of school, so I could get my driver's license sooner (some people had to wait a little while after the legal minimum age, due to time commitments they might've had at the time).
Despite whatever it costs where you live, I believe that learning to drive is a skill everyone should have. You never know when you might need it. Even if you live in say, NYC where it's very possible to get through day-to-day life without driving, you might need to rent a car, drive a friend's car, whatever.
Plus if you live in an area where the driving age is less than 18 (most of the U.S., not sure about other countries), it'll be a big load off your parents' shoulders since they no longer need to drive you places.
Ben